Towel warmer

ABSTRACT

This is primarily a towel warming device but which may also serve as a dryer. It embodies a relatively tall, long and narrow closed box-like unit adapted to be suspended from a towel bar or other suitable support. Two opposed elongated sides are tapered or flared outwardly from top to bottom to provide maximum contact with a towel draped thereover. An electrical heating component is mounted on the inner side of a removable door in the bottom of the box and includes electrical connection apparatus that connects with an electrical outlet within the box when the door is in place and which becomes disconnected from such outlet when the door is removed. The outlet in the box-like unit has leads for connection to a source of electricity and the circuit to the heating component includes a manual switch and a thermostatic control to open the circuit at a predetermined temperature.

United States Patent [191 Graham, Jr.

[ NOV. 19, 1974 1 1 TOWEL WARMER 22 Filed: Feb. 26, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 335,738

[52] 11.3. C1 219/342, 34/239, 219/357, 219/385, 219/521, 219/541, 248/214, 248/317 [51] Int. Cl. 1105b 1/00 [58] Field of Search 34/239, 243, 151; 219/200, 219/201, 342, 341, 345, 357, 403, 520,521, 522, 385, 541; 248/317, 214; 211/86; 312/245 Primary Examiner-A. Bartis Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Morton S. Adler [5 7] ABSTRACT This is primarily a towel warming device but which may also serve as a dryer. It embodies a relatively tall, long and narrow closed box-like unit adapted to be suspended from a towel bar or other suitable support. Two opposed elongated sides are tapered or flared outwardly from top to bottom to provide maximum contact with a towel draped thereover. An electrical heating component is mounted on the inner side of a removable door in the bottom of the box and includes electrical connection apparatus that connects with an electrical outlet within the box when the door is in place and which becomes disconnected from such outlet when the door is removed. The outlet in the boxlike unit has leads for connection to a source of electricity and the circuit to the heating component includes a manual switch and a thermostatic control to open the circuit at a predetermined temperature.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures TOWEL WARMER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to improvements in an electrically heated device suitable for warming or drying towels and the like. Various forms of devices of this type have been made heretofore as exemplified in US. Pat. Nos. 1,013,327, 1,677,280, 3,160,734 and 3,217,137 and it would appear that these are directed to a generally cylindrical article designed either to serve in place of a towel bar or to encase such a bar already mounted and the necessity to wrap the towel around the heated cylinder to accomplish the desired warming or drying is believed to be impractical and a decided disadvantage. Accordingly, with the above observations in mind, one of the important objects of this invention is to provide an improved electrically heated towel warmer and dryer whereby substantially the entire area of an ordinary bath or face towel draped thereover will be in contact with a heated surface.

While the source of heat in the form of an electric light bulb or heating element as utilized in the present invention is not per se new for articles of this type as disclosed by the prior art it is another object of this invention to incorporate with the heating component certain improved safety features to minimize and substantially eliminate the likelihood of injury, particularly from electric shock, in the use of the same and in replacing the heating component when necessary.

Still another object is to provide a towel warmer or dryer of the above class that can be quickly and easily suspended from or removed from any towel bar or other suitable support.

The several objects of this invention together with the general details outlined and the advantages of the same will be more fully described in relation to the more detailed description of the accompanying drawmgs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of this towel warmer and dryer with portions broken away to more clearly illustrate the heating component,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of this invention in inverted position showing the heating component and the access door thereto in a removed relationship,

FIG. 3 is a wiring diagram for the light bulb heating component in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of this device showing a modified heating component in the form of a heating element,

FIG. 5 is a wiring diagram for the heating element in FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of this warmer and dryer showing a modified hook means for mounting to a supporting towel bar.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, this new towel warmer or dryer is designated generally by the numeral 10 as seen in FIG. 1 and is adapted to be removably suspended from any suitable support such as a conventional wall mounted towel bar 12. Warmer l0 defines a generally tall, long and narrow closed box-like unit or housing of suitable heat conducting material such as sheet metal comprising a fiat top I4 and bottom 16, ends 18 and 20 and sides 22 and 24. The width of top 14 is somewhat less than the width of bottom 16 so that the opposed elongated sides 22 and 24 are flared slightly from top to bottom. Preferably, the outer surfaces of ends 18 and 20 are covered by a suitable insulation 26 and bottom 16 is similarly covered as at 28.

The bottom 16 is provided with a suitable opening 30 here shown as preferably rectangular in shape and into which a complementary shaped door or closure 32 is removably secured by any suitable means such as the friction clips 34. A knob or handle 36 is secured to the outer side of door 32 as best seen in FIG. 4. Means are provided at the top of warmer 10 for removable attachment to bar 12 and as seen in FIG. I, one embodiment includes an arcuate or generally U-shaped elongated bracket 38 having one of its longitudinal edges hingedly secured as at 40 (FIG. 2) to the top longitudinal edge of side 24 with its other longitudinal edge being removably secured to the upper portion of side 22 by screws 42 or the like. By this arrangement, the spaced open ends of bracket 38 are astraddle the top portions of sides 22 and 24 with the arcuate portion of such bracket being in spaced relationship above top 14 to provide the passageway or chamber 44 for the bar 12 so that warmer 10 may be suspended from bar 12 as shown. In a second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 and designated 10, top 14 is not required since the ends and sides are formed at the top in the same arcuate shape46 provided by bracket 38 and a pair of hooks 48 are mounted at respective end portions of top 46.

Within warmer 10 on one of the sides 22 or 24 and preferably shown here on side 24, there is mounted an electrical outlet or receptacle 50 of a conventional type adapted to receive a male plug. Such outlet 50 is suitably supported as at 52 so that the terminal slots thereon are oriented toward the opening 30 in bottom 16. A conventional electric cord 54 with a male plug 56 adapted to be connected to a source of electric supply (not shown) is electrically connected to receptacle 50 in a well known manner. Intermediate plug 56 and receptacle 50 in cord 54 there is provided a manual switch 58 and a thermostatic control 60 designed to open the circuit to outlet 50 at approximately F.

On the inside of door 32 there is mounted an electric plug component 62 having a socket well 64 designed to receive an ordinary light bulb 66 and it is recommended that this be one of fifty watts. The socket well 64 is oriented so that the length of bulb 66 will be parallel to and slightly spaced from the inner surface of door 32 as shown and such plug 62 is provided with a male end wherein the prongs 68 extend perpendicularly from the inner surface of door 32. The position of outlet 50 in warmer 10 relative to the opening 30 in bottom 16 is such that when door 32 is frictionally secured in place in such opening, prongs 68 will seat in the terminal slots of outlet 50 and thereby connect bulb 66 to the source of current provided by cord 54. By this arrangement, it will be appreciated that when door 32 is removed, for which knob 36 is provided, the bulb 66 is disconnected from the power source and thus when, or if, bulb 66 is removed from the well 64, such well is not electrically activated. This is provided as a safety feature so that if door 32 is removed for any reason and particularly by a child, a live socket will not result from removal of bulb 66.

in FIGS. 4 and 5 a second embodiment of the source of heat for warmer is shown in the form of a conventional heating element 70 which may be substituted for bulb 66 and which is associated with door 32 and electrically connected in the same manner as described for bulb 66.

With warmer l0 constructed as described, it can be easily and quickly suspended preferably from a towel bar 12 by bracket 38 or hooks 48 or from any other suitable support and the flared configuration described assures that when an ordinary face or bath towel (not shown) is draped over the warmer, substantially the entire area of such towel will be in contact with the warmer. For this purpose, the linear length of warmer 10 from the bottom of side 24 upwardly across the bracket 38 (or top 46) to the bottom of side 22 is designed to accommodate the length of the type of face or bath towel customarily used.

It has been determined that the heat produced by a fifty watt light bulb 66 is adequate to suitably warm a towel as may be desired prior to use and to dry it afterwards and at the same time not raise the temperature of the warmer 10 to a point dangerous to touch. The thermostatic control 60 is provided to limit such temperature to that provided by a 50 watt bulb which is approximately l F and this is another safety feature in the event a bulb larger that fifty watts is used inadvertently or otherwise to replace the bulb 66. Vent holes 72 are provided in the ends 18 and 20 as shown and these also serve as ports for visual inspection of the bulb 66 or element 70. Accordingly, from all of the foregoing, it is thought that a full and complete understanding of the construction and use of this warmer and dryer and its several advantages will be had and appreciated.

I claim:

1. A towel wanning and drying device, comprising:

a relatively tall, long, elongated and narrow closed housing of heat conducting material defining a top, bottom, narrow opposed ends and elongated opposed sides,

said top being of a lesser width than said bottom whereby said opposed elongated sides are flared outwardly from top to bottom,

an elongated inverted U-shaped bracket on said housing coextensive in length with the top thereof to provide a passageway parallel to said top whereby a towel bar or the like can be extended therethrough for supporting said housing in a depending relationship,

said bracket defining spaced parallel longitudinal edges with one of said edges secured to one sidewall of said housing and the other longitudinal edge secured to the other sidewall of said housing by removable fasteners, said bracket and sidewalls defining a towel receiving surface when a towel is draped over the drying device, and an electric heating component within said housing adapted for connection to a source of electricity. 2. A device as defined in claim 1 including the combined area of said elongated opposed sides and bracket being substantially equal to the area of an ordinary unfolded face or bath towel whereby such a towel can be draped over said housing with the substantial entire area of the towel in contact with a portion of said opposed sides and bracket.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 including: said housing forming a closed interior compartment,

said housing being provided with an opening directly into said compartment,

said opening being the only access to said compartment,

a closure member removably disposed in said opensaid electric heating component being mounted to the inner side of said closure member so as to be within said compartment when said closure member is in place,

electrical supply means on said housing within said compartment and connected to a source of electricity, and

means on said heating component cooperating with means on said electrical supply means whereby the electrical connection of said heating component to said electrical supply means is effected by the mounting of said closure member to said housing and is rendered inoperative upon the removal of said closure member from said housing.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 including:

said closure member being a removable door,

said heating component on the inner side of said door including the male end of an electric plug,

said electrical supply means including an electrical female outlet, and

said plug and outlet being oriented relative to each other so that the mounting of said door to close said compartment effects the electrical connection of said plug to said outlet and the removal of said door electrically disconnects said plug from said outlet and removes said heating component from said compartment. 

1. A towel warming and drying device, comprising: a relatively tall, long, elongated and narrow closed housing of heat conducting material defining a top, bottom, narrow opposed ends and elongated opposed sides, said top being of a lesser width than said bottom whereby said opposed elongated sides are flared outwardly from top to bottom, an elongated inverted U-shaped bracket on said housing coextensive in length with the top thereof to provide a passageway parallel to said top whereby a towel bar or the like can be extended therethrough for supporting said housing in a depending relationship, said bracket defining spaced parallel longitudinal edges with one of said edges secured to one sidewall of said housing and the other longitudinal edge secured to the other sidewall of said housing by removable fasteners, said bracket and sidewalls defining a towel receiving surface when a towel is draped over the drying device, and an electric heating component within said housing adapted for connection to a source of electricity.
 2. A device as defined in claim 1 including the combined area of said elongated opposed sides and bracket being substantially equal to the area of an ordinary unfolded face or bath towel whereby such a towel can be draped over said housing with the substantial entire area of the towel in contact with a portion of said opposed sides and bracket.
 3. A device as defined in claim 1 including: said housing forming a closed interior compartment, said housing being provided with an opening directly into said compartment, said opening being the only access to said compartment, a closure member removably disposed in said opening, said electric heating component being mounted to the inner side of said closure member so as to be within said compartment when said closure member is in place, electrical supply means on said housing within said compartment and connected to a source of electricity, and means on said heating component cooperating with means on said electrical supply means whereby the electrical connection of said heating component to said electrical supply meanS is effected by the mounting of said closure member to said housing and is rendered inoperative upon the removal of said closure member from said housing.
 4. A device as defined in claim 3 including: said closure member being a removable door, said heating component on the inner side of said door including the male end of an electric plug, said electrical supply means including an electrical female outlet, and said plug and outlet being oriented relative to each other so that the mounting of said door to close said compartment effects the electrical connection of said plug to said outlet and the removal of said door electrically disconnects said plug from said outlet and removes said heating component from said compartment. 